Founded in 1952, the Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández for decades has served as a leading cultural ambassador for México. Founder Amalia Hernández studied anthropology under Miguel Covarrubias and danced with teachers such as Nellie Campobello while traveling Mexico to research traditions of dance across the country. The company has performed at World Fairs, Pan American Games, Festivals of Nations, and on countless international tours--and every week at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City since 1959. The Georgetown Americas Institute and the Americas Forum presented a discussion on the Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández and a performance by Corazón Folklórico.
This event was co-sponsored by Georgetown Americas Institute and the Americas Forum. Audience seats were first come, first served.
Featuring
Amalia Viviana Basanta Hernández is artistic director of the Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández and daughter of the founder. She has focused on preserving her mother’s legacy and sharing it with the Mexican community in the United States. She joined the National Ballet of Mexico at the age of 13 and soon after the Ballet Folklórico, where she performed as a soloist for over 20 years. She directed the Escuela del Ballet Folklórico for ten years, and in 2002 founded the Academia de Danza Amalia Hernández (ACADEZ), which hosts masterclasses serving students in the United States. Her many original choreographies include “Gustos de Guerrero,” “Navidades en México,” and “Lara y Sus Mujeres.”
Corazón Folklórico Dance Company was established in 2017 to promote and celebrate the cultural diversity of Mexico through dance. The Company has joined in more than 70 events and performed for over 18,000 spectators across the greater Washington area. It holds a two-year residency at The Kennedy Centers’s Social Impact Program, participating in the Cultural Caucus at the Reach. The work of Artistic Director Alejandro Góngora has been recognized by the Mexican Embassy’s Cultural Institute.
Victoria Saeki-Serna (G'28) was born in Mexico City and educated in Texas. Victoria has pursued history and dance to build bridges between Mexico and the United States. She began dancing folklórico at the age of 8 and has danced workshops with renowned teachers including Amalia Viviana Basanta Hernández. While continuing to dance, her academic journey took her to Rice University, where she graduated with honors in History and as a Mellon Mays Fellow. Now a Ph.D. student at Georgetown, she studies US-Mexican relations during the Cold War while performing with Corazón Folklórico. Drawing from both her dance and academic studies, Victoria will engage Viviana Basanta in conversation about the origins and goals of the Ballet.
John Tutino is a professor of history and international affairs, and director of the Americas Forum at Georgetown. He first visited Mexico in 1965 and first enjoyed the Ballet Folklórico at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1973 while a Fulbright Fellow. A historian of Mexican communities in the world, his recent works include The Mexican Heartland: How Communities Shaped Capitalism, a Nation, and World History, 1500-2000 (Princeton 2018).